Highlights 2015

What did NLR achieve in 2015? This report presents the activities and results of our work in that financial year – January 1 to December 31.

This year we are publishing an online English version as well as a printed condensed version in Dutch. The complete report is in English since we want to be accountable to our partners and beneficiaries in our extensive international network, particularly in the countries where we work. The number of Dutch readers of our full annual report appears to be limited.

If you have questions that are not answered in this report, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would be happy to provide any additional information.

Foreword

A world in which leprosy no longer destroys lives and where persons with disabilities participate fully in society. That is our goal. In 2015, these were our most important focal points in our work.

Ensuring realization of our mission

To ensure realization of our mission, we took important preparatory steps towards decentralization in 2015. The project ‘NLR 2020’ aims at converting our regional offices into strong, independent NGOs that co-operate with NLR as an international network. The intention is to increase their skills in fundraising so they can attract more international and local support. This will prevent us falling short of sufficient funds to continue our work in the longer term. Income from our legacies in the Netherlands was lower than projected in 2015, which underlined the urgency of diversifying our income through decentralization. NLR is investing part of its reserve funds in this fundamental restructuring.

Combined lobbying

NLR was pleased that the Dutch parliament approved ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in December 2015 and January 2016. This is important to us since the convention also contains 2 articles on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in policy regarding development cooperation and humanitarian aid. People affected by leprosy fall into this category. Together with the other members of the Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development (DCDD) we lobbied for special attention to these 2 articles and their implications while preparing ratification of the UN Convention. We also jointly advised the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation to make funds available for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society in general and in development policies and projects. We and our partners look forward to the establishment in 2016 of ‘Voice’, as an inclusion fund on the insistence of the Dutch parliament.

New approaches in leprosy control

In 2015 we took an important step in our effort to join projects with organizations and programs aimed at neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and other disabling diseases. Since mid-2015 we have been providing help, together with the British organization Lepra, to both leprosy affected people as well as persons affected by Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) in Zambezia province, Mozambique. We established 63 combined self-care groups that focus on preventing disabilities, improving the quality of life and breaking down stigma. The group members are very enthusiastic about the approach. At the end of 2015 10 groups were already active. If we can raise the funds needed, we will also roll this innovative and successful approach in Niassa and Nampula provinces in 2016.

We wish to thank everyone who contributed to our work in 2015 via personal involvement, financial support or co-operation.

Jan van BerkelDirector

Bram van OjikChair, Supervisory Board

Highlights 2015

Leprosy control

Disability

Research

Funding

Innovation

Cooperation

Since mid-2015, we have been extending help to people with either leprosy or Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) in Zambezia, Mozambique. We work together with Lepra; a British organization with 5 years of experience with this combined approach in India and Bangladesh.

After the heavy earthquake in Nepal, we assisted 240 families that had disabled members – whether caused by leprosy or not – to get temporary shelter when their homes became unusable.

In 2015, the Leprosy Research Initiative (LRI) was turned into an independent foundation, managed and supervised by NLR. In 2015 the LRI financed leprosy research to the tune of €1.34 million from contributions by 6 organizations.

On World Leprosy Day, NLR launched a crochet event. About 3,000 crochet fanatics gathered at 122 different locations across the Netherlands to crochet as many red cats as possible. They raised €18,530.

The 6 leprosy-afflicted countries that take part in the Leprosy Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (LPEP) project make good progress. By giving direct contacts of leprosy patients a single dose of rifampicin (antibiotic) tablet, it reduces their chances of contracting the disease by 60%. NLR distributed tablets to 36,000 people in the 3 countries (Indonesia, India and Nepal) where we support the pilot projects of this LPEP project. Some countries already prepare for upscaling the distribution of PEP to larger regions or even national scale.

Finances & Annual Accounts

In the annual accounts, NLR sets down the income, expenditure, results and final holdings in 2015. These accounts comprise an integral aspect of the annual report and include consolidated figures for NLR in the Netherlands and her 7 regional offices in Africa, Asia and South America, and LRI (Leprosy Research Initiative). They are drafted in accordance with the standards issued by the Dutch Accounting Standards Board (RJ 650). Compliance with this guideline is a requirement of the Central Bureau on Fundraising (CBF). NLR has set the director’s remuneration package according to the guidelines for management salaries in fundraising institutions (Adviesregeling Beloning Directeuren van Goede Doelen), and the code of governance for fundraising institutions (Code Wijffels). The rounding-off of the figures can cause small differences in the sums noted.